Comte Cheese Souffle

Comté cheese soufflé Serves 6 Preparation: 20 mins Cooking: 25 mins Special equipment: 25–30cm oval or round earthenware dish1, electric mixer or whisk

Comté is my home, my region; it gives me a sense of place. Maman Blanc always cooked her soufflé in a large shallow earthenware dish, rather than individual moulds. She would place the dish on the table for all of us to help ourselves, or sometimes the soufflé would be encased in a flaky pastry tart. Of course, only Comté cheese would be used, never Gruyère or Emmenthal. Everyone assumes that soufflés behave like prima donnas, but I will show you how easy they can be.

They are usually inexpensive, yet create a wonderful drama at the table.

Planning ahead The soufflé base can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge, the surface closely covered with buttered greaseproof paper to avoid crusting. It will need to be warmed before the egg whites are incorporated (see note 6, overleaf). The sauce can also be made a day in advance and reheated at the last moment, but you will need to whisk in 2 tsp cold water to stop it splitting.

For lining the soufflé dish 20g unsalted butter, softened 20g dried, fine breadcrumbs

For the soufflé mix 7 organic/free-range medium egg whites 14 drops of lemon juice

For the soufflé base 50g unsalted butter 50g plain flour 450ml whole milk, warmed 160g young Comté cheese, grated 1 tsp Dijon mustard 3 organic/free-range medium egg yolks 2 pinches of sea salt, or to taste 2 pinches of white pepper, or to taste

To finish the soufflé 20g young Comté cheese, finely grated For the sauce 150ml double cream 70g young Comté cheese, grated 4 turns of freshly ground white pepper 1 tbsp kirsch (optional)

To line the soufflé dish Using a pastry brush, grease the dish with a thin, even layer of softened butter2, then coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking out the excess; put the dish to one side. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4 and place a baking tray on the middle shelf to heat up.

To prepare the soufflé base In a small saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour, whisk until smooth and cook to a nutty blond roux3. Lower the heat, then gradually add the warm milk, little by little, whisking to keep the consistency smooth. Add the cheese and mustard and continue to cook, stirring

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from time to time, for 3–5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Add the egg yolks and stir until the mixture is silky and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste4 and keep warm.

To whisk the egg whites In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites5 with the lemon juice to medium peaks.

To incorporate the egg whites into the base Transfer the warm soufflé base6 to a large bowl and briefly whisk in one third of the whipped egg whites7 to lighten the base. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites with a spatula or large metal spoon, delicately cutting and lifting the mixture to ensure minimum loss of volume and lightness. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Pour the soufflé mixture into the prepared dish, to three-quarters fill it.

To cook the soufflé Slide the dish onto the hot baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes8. Meanwhile, make your cheese sauce.

To make the sauce While the soufflé is cooking, bring the cream to the boil and add the cheese and pepper, stirring continuously. Once the cheese has melted, remove from the heat and taste for seasoning9. A dash of kirsch would not go amiss. Pour the sauce into a warm sauceboat.

To finish and serve Sprinkle the grated cheese over the surface of the soufflé and bake for a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately, placing the soufflé and sauce in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves.

Variations Use another cheese in place of Comté. There are many different options: goat’s cheese, Stilton, Emmenthal and Gruyère are just a few.

As an alternative, use individual soufflé dishes, 9.5cm in diameter and 5.5cm tall. These quantities will make 4 individual soufflés. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/Gas 6 for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the cheese on top and cook for a further 5 minutes.

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The choice of dish is important. Earthenware is a slow conductor of heat, which encourages a more even temperature distribution. A ceramic dish is the next best choice.

Brushing the sides of the dish with butter will help the soufflé rise evenly; it is the lubricant. The breadcrumbs add a lovely contrasting texture. It is essential to grease the dish thoroughly; if any part is not buttered then it will hamper the rise of the soufflé.

The base gives the texture, body and richness to a soufflé and it will hold the whisked egg whites. Here you are making a classic roux, which will bind and thicken the milk when they are combined and cooked together. Cook the flour and butter to a light nutty colour, to enhance the flavour and make the flour more

digestible. It is important to cook the base for 3–5 minutes to ensure that all the starch molecules have burst, grabbed as much moisture as possible, and are completely cooked.

4 Comté cheese, like Parmesan, contains quite a lot of salt, so the base should need little, if any, additional salt.

5 The whisked egg whites provide the lifting power, so it is important that they are fully whipped. The bowl must be very clean and dry, as grease and water impede the process. Lemon juice prevents the egg white graining and also heightens the flavour. Do not over-whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, otherwise they’ll be difficult to incorporate into the base.

6 The base must be hot as the egg whites are folded in. It would be difficult to fold egg whites smoothly into a cold base and some of the lifting power and lightness would be lost as the air bubbles burst. It is better for the base to be wetter rather than drier. The hot base gives the soufflé a head start, enabling it to rise faster.

7 A third of the egg whites are briskly whisked in to lighten the base; this stage makes it easier to gently fold in the remaining egg whites, keeping the soufflé mixture light and airy. It is better to slightly under-mix, rather than overwork the two together, which would undermine the lightness of the soufflé.

8 Whilst cooking, a number of things will happen; not least the soufflé will rise impressively. Through the cooking process, the bubbles of air will expand and push up the mixture, while millions of droplets of moisture trying to escape are lifting the soufflé up. At the same time, whilst cooking, the egg yolks lend richness and set around the millions of bubbles, stabilising the soufflé and giving this wondrous texture.

9 If the sauce splits, whisk in 2 tsp cold water and it should re-emuslify.

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